Consititutional Law Of Cuba- Part 2

ARTICLE 9

– channels the efforts of the nation in the construction of socialism;

– maintains and defends the integrity and the sovereignty of the country;

– guarantees the liberty and the full dignity of man, the enjoyment of his rights, the exercise and fulfillment of his duties and the integral development of his personality;

– consolidates the ideology and the rules of living together and of conduct proper of a society free from the exploitation of man by man;

– protects the constructive work of the people and the property and riches of the socialist nation;

– directs in a planned way the national economy;

– assures the educational, scientific, technical and cultural progress of the country;

b. as the power of the people and for the people, guarantees

– that every man or woman, who is able to work, have the opportunity to have a job with which to contribute to the good of society and to the satisfaction of individual needs;

– that no disabled person be left without adequate mean of subsistence;

– that no sick person be left without medical care;

– that no child be left without schooling, food and clothing;

– that no young person be left without the opportunity to study;

– that no one be left without access to studies, culture and sports;

c. works to achieve that no family be left without a comfortable place to live.

ARTICLE 10

All state bodies, their leaders, officials and employees function within the limits of their respective competency and are under the obligation to strictly observe socialist legality and to look after the respect of the same within the context of the whole of society.

ARTICLE 11

The state exercises its sovereignty:

a. over the entire national territory, which consists of the island of Cuba, the Isle of Youth and all other adjacent islands and keys; internal waters; the territorial waters in the extension prescribed by law; and the air space corresponding to the above;

b. over the environment and natural resources of the country;

c. over mineral, plant and animal resources on and under the ocean floor and those in waters comprised in the Republic’s maritime economic area, as prescribed by law, in keeping with international practice.

The Republic of Cuba rejects and considers illegal and null all treaties, pacts and concessions which were signed in conditions of inequality, or which disregard or diminish its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

ARTICLE 12

The Republic of Cuba espouses the principles of anti-imperialism and internationalism, and

a. ratifies its aspirations to a valid, true and dignified peace for all states, big or small, weak or powerful, based on respect for the independence and sovereignty of the peoples and the right to self-determination;

b. establishes its international relations based on the principles of equality of rights, self-determination of the peoples, territorial integrity, independence of states, international cooperation for mutual and equitable benefit and interest, peaceful settlement of disputes on an equal footing and based on respect and the other principles proclaimed in the United Nations Charter and in other international treaties which Cuba is a party to;

c. reaffirms its desire for integration and cooperation with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, whose common identity and historical need to advance united on the road to economic and political integration for the attainment of true independence would allow us to achieve our rightful place in the world;

d. advocates the unity of all Third World countries in the face of the neocolonialist and imperialist policy which seeks to limit and subordinate the sovereignty of our peoples, and worsen the economic conditions of exploitation and oppression of the underdeveloped nations;

e. condemns imperialism, the promoter and supporter of all fascist, colonialist, neocolonialist and racist manifestations, as the main force of aggression and of war, and the worst enemy of the peoples;

f. repudiates direct or indirect intervention in the internal and external affairs of any state and, therefore, also repudiates armed aggression, economic blockade, as well as any other kind of economic or political coercion, physical violence against people residing in other countries, or any other type of interference with or aggression against the integrity of states and the political, economic and cultural elements of nations;

g. rejects the violation of the inalienable and sovereign right of all states to regulate the use and benefits of telecommunications in their territory, according to universal practice and international agreements which they have signed;

h. considers wars of aggression and of conquest international crimes; recognizes the legitimacy of the struggle for national liberation, as well as of armed resistance to aggression; and considers that its solidarity with those under attack and with the peoples that struggle for their liberation and self-determination constitutes its internationalist duty;

i. bases its relations with those countries building socialism on fraternal friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance, founded on the common objectives of the construction of a new society;

j. maintains friendly relations with those countries which – although having a different political, social and economic system – respect its sovereignty, observe the rules of coexistence among states and the principles of mutual conveniences, and adopt an attitude of reciprocity with our country.

ARTICLE 13

The Republic of Cuba grants asylum to those who are persecuted because of their ideals or their struggles for democratic rights; against imperialism, fascism, colonialism and neocolonialism; against discrimination and racism; for national liberation; for the rights of workers, peasants and students and the redress of their grievances; for their progressive political, scientific, artistic and literary activities; for socialism and peace.

ARTICLE 14

In the Republic of Cuba rules the socialist system of economy based on the people’s socialist ownership of the fundamental means of production and on the abolition of the exploitation of man by man.

In Cuba also rules the principle of socialist distribution of "from each according to his capacity, to each according to his work." The law establishes the provisions which guarantee the effective fulfillment of this principle.

ARTICLE 15

Socialist state property, which is the property of the entire people, comprises:

a. the lands that do not belong to small farmers or to cooperatives formed by them, the subsoil, mines, mineral, plant and animal resources in the Republic’s maritime economic area, forests, waters and means of communications;

b. the sugar mills, factories, chief means of transportation and all those enterprises, banks and facilities that have been nationalized and expropriated from the imperialist, landholders and bourgeoisie, as well as the factories, enterprises and economic facilities and scientific, social, cultural and sports centers built, fostered or purchased by the state and those to be built, fostered or purchased by the state in the future.

Property ownership may not be transferred to natural persons or legal entities, save for exceptional cases in which the partial or total transfer of an economic objective is carried out for the development of the country and does not affect the political, social and economic foundations of the state, prior to approval by the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee.

The transfer of other property rights to state enterprises and other entities authorized to fulfill this objective will be prescribed by law.